The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1887-10-28
miscellaneous.
A LITTLE HERCULES.

Away back in the sixties was financially
Interested in two or three Texas enterprises
with man named George Sloane. That was
his right name, but in many localities in Texas
he was known as Merry George. | have
seen great many statements concerning his
adventures in print, but all more or less ex
aggerated. Some Of the adventures which
came about while we were in company l will
now give to the press for the first time
Sloane was an Ohio boy, and made his &C.
quaintance and chummed with him in Amber
sonville prison. We went West together
after the war, and at that time he was only 81
years old. He was 5 feet 7 inches high,
weighed 100 pounds, and was the strongest
man l ever saw outside of professional
wrestler or cannon-ball tosser. His flesh was
30 hard that he could crack a walnut on his
leg. On two or three occasions knew him
to break the bones in mans hand by a
single grip. He took no training ofaDy sort,
but the strength and ruggedness were born
to him. AS if not satisfied in making him a
young Hercules, nature gave him the most
wonderful nerve and courage. He once told
me that he would give 500 to realize for five
minutes what fear was. l saw him in some
of the hottest places man could get into,
and l never saw him falter or hesitate or
make mistake in doing just the right thing.
One afternoon, after we had finished up
some business in Dallas and were ready to
CO. we entered a saloon. Ii was full of gam
blers, cowboys and rough characters general
ly, and every man wore revolver in plain
sight. We were slipping our drink when a
burly, big ruff1an, who was fighter from
away back, intentionally fell against Sloane
with considerable force, and then stood off
and leered at him and said:
I'm wailin' fur we to ak my parding for
that, banty."
Sloane never carried a weapon of any sort
while in town. He looked the fellow over
in a cool and quiet way, and finally asked:
Did you intend to insult me, sir?"
Insult YEP" echoed the other. "Who
talks of insults ?. Why ye little gamecock
from somebody's barnyard, I'll give we two
mnits to get down on your knees to me-"
"lf you do not beg my pardon before l
finish this glass, replied George, 81 will make
a wreck of you"
BY this time everybody in the saloon had
crowded around us, and it was easy to see we
had no friends there. There was something
in Sloane's eye and tone which cautioned the
big fellow, and if left to himself he would
have retired from the scrape But he was
egged on and braced up by the crowd who
ached TO see row, and he stepped back
little. drew his revolver, and growled
Now, banty, get down on your marrow
bones, or you'll take a dose of lead"
Sloane leaned on the bar with his elbow and
slipped his wine slowly, paying no further
attention to any one. He was, perhaps, a
minute and half finishing his glass, and dur
ing the last half minute he was covered with
the mans revolver When he sat the glass
down he wiped off his mouth, returned the
handkerchief, and then turned and advanced
upon the ruffian. The man fired point blank
at his head, cut off lock of hair, and the
bullet killed the bartender Before he could
fire again George seized him, one hand on his
throat and the other on his knee lifted him
high in the air. and held him thus for ten
seconds. Then he gave the body fling upon
some whisky barrels ten feet away. 1t was
an astonishing feat of strength, and the 81.
lence of death fell upon the room. When it
was broken 1t was by man who had tptoed
over to the barrels to look at the ruffiaU, and
who hoarsely whispered
"Great heavens Tom is as dead as fish p
So he was. The iron fingers had choked
the life out of him as he was held aloft, and
when he struck the barrel almost every bone
in his body was broken. George stood there
for two long minutes, looking from one to
the other, and then asked:
docs anybody else want me to 90 down
on my knees?'
Never man replied. Never hand was
lifted and we went slowly out and mounted
our horses and rode away unmolested.
A month or so later we were at Waco, and
one night attended the performance at con-
cert hall. A rougher crowd couldn't have
been brought together. In the first five
minutes of our stay, | saw three tumblers of
beer shot out of the hands of walters, and hat
was knocked from the head of one of the
stage performers by bullet. l scented
row and wanted to go, but George asked me
to wait bit. Directly in front of us sat an
outlaw from the Indian Territory. He was
in an ugly frame of mind and anxious for
blood letting, and pretty soon he turned on
US with
(Which of you vermin spit on my hat ?"
Neither of us, sir" politely answered
you are liar p shouted the man, as lie
rose up.
No shooting No shootingI' called a
hundred voices, and the stage performance
was suspended to see therow out We were
chock up to the side of the hail. with wide
aisle in our front. Retreat was cut off, while
we could be approached by three men abreast
We put our backs 10 the wall, and called
out that we were unarmed and wanted fair
play. Twenty people shouted back that we
should have II, but in place of two men ap-
preaching us whole half dozen jumped into
the aisle.
Leave them all to me" whispered George
and he obliged me to do so by stepping in
front.
The crowd came at us with n rush, sleeves
rolled up and fists clinched. George stepped
out to meet them. Biffl Biffl went his iron
knuckles, and every man was knocked down
inside of forty seconds, and that before one
of them could get in blow. Then George
picked each one up in turn, gave him shake
which elected howl Of pain, and flung him
among the spectators. Not one of them came
back after more, and no one else in the audi
ence cared to NEEDLE with us. 1t was over
in five minutes, and after the stage manager
hid TIM